etymology

«etymology» in Mova's school dictionary: the study of where words come from and how they have… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

noun (etymology, etymologies)

meaning for a pupil

1) Etymology is the study of where words come from and how they have changed over time. tree →

2) The etymology of a word is its own history: which language it came from and what it meant before. tree →

sense in the lessons

In English lessons, knowing the etymology of a word helps with spelling and meaning: «bicycle» has «bi» (two) and «cycle» (wheel) from Greek and Latin. Many English words come from Latin, Greek, French, Old Norse and Old English. Phrases: «the etymology of», «folk etymology» (a popular but wrong story about a word's origin).

examples

• The etymology of «breakfast» is «breaking your fast» after the night. tree →
• I love etymology because every word has a story. tree →
• «Dinosaur» has a Greek etymology meaning «terrible lizard». tree →
• The dictionary gives the etymology at the end of each entry. tree →
• Etymology shows that «hello» and «hallo» are related. tree →
• Some funny stories about word origins are false etymologies. tree →

note

Plural: etymologies. Do not confuse with «entomology», the study of insects (remember: insects have six legs, and «ent» like «ant»). Many famous word-origin stories (for example that «posh» means «port out, starboard home») are myths.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «etymology» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.